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Iran has amassed even more near weapons-grade uranium, UN watchdog says

Iran has amassed even more near weapons-grade uranium, UN watchdog says

Washington Post2 days ago

VIENNA — Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels, a confidential report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Saturday and called on Tehran to urgently change course and comply with the agency's probe.
The report comes at a sensitive time as Tehran and Washington have been holding several rounds of talks over a possible nuclear deal that U.S. President Donald Trump is trying to reach.

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Rand Paul Thinks There Are Enough GOP Senators to Block Trump Budget Bill
Rand Paul Thinks There Are Enough GOP Senators to Block Trump Budget Bill

Newsweek

time34 minutes ago

  • Newsweek

Rand Paul Thinks There Are Enough GOP Senators to Block Trump Budget Bill

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, said Sunday that he's confident there are enough members of his party to vote against President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" spending bill amid concerns that it does not make enough cuts to spending. Newsweek reached out to the White House and Paul's office by email outside of normal business hours on Sunday for comment. Why It Matters Trump made the passage of a new spending bill one of his centerpiece policy goals for his second administration, aiming to wrap everything up into one single bill, the much-touted "big, beautiful bill" that will allow him to pursue his raft of policies. The bill would extend the president's 2017 tax cats, reduce taxes for individuals and corporations, and add new exemptions for tipped workers and overtime pay. Critics also warn that the bill's spending cuts would prove insufficient to pay for the proposed tax cuts and other spending priorities. However, some Republicans have voiced reservations about supporting the bill, with the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimating that it will add $3.8 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years. The House of Representatives passed the bill by just one vote, 215-214, as two Republicans broke ranks and joined every House Democrat in opposing the bill. What To Know Paul has spoken out against the spending bill and said he will not vote to pass it due to the inclusion of a mechanism that would allow Congress to increase the nation's debt limit by $5 trillion. On Sunday, the senator appeared on CBS News' Face the Nation when host Margaret Brennan asked, "Do you have three other Republicans who will stand with you to block this bill?" Paul responded: "I think there are four of us at this point, and I would be very surprised if the bill at least is not modified in a good direction." He continued: "I want to vote for it. I'm for the tax cuts. I voted for the tax cuts before, I want the tax cuts to be permanent, but at the same time I don't want to raise the debt ceiling $5 trillion, so I've told them if you take the debt ceiling off the bill, in all likelihood I can vote for what the agreement is on the rest of the bill. And it doesn't have to be perfect to my liking, but if I vote for the $5 trillion debt, who's left in Washington that cares about the debt? The GOP will own the debt once they vote for this." The GOP senator said Trump's "big, beautiful bill" increases spending by about $320 billion for the military and for the border. "To put that perspective, that's more than all the [Department of Government Efficiency] DOGE cuts that we found so far, so the increase in spending put into this bill exceeds the DOGE cuts," he said Sunday. Paul then cited what he called inflated spending on the southern border wall, noting that the Trump administration managed to carry out its deportations without needing new spending or equipment and therefore deeming such expenditure in the bill is "asking for too much money." "In the end, the way you add it up to see if it actually is going to save money or add money is how much debt are they going to borrow—$5 trillion over two years is an enormous amount," he said. Brennan: Do you have three other Republicans who will stand with you to block this bill? Paul: I think there are four of us at this point — Acyn (@Acyn) June 1, 2025 What People Are Saying Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday: "The American people, like the Great People of Kentucky, do not support Biden spending levels and $5T in new debt. Therefore, I will not. It's simple." Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican, wrote on X on Sunday: "The House Budget process focused on $1.5 trillion in reduced spending and ignored the looming debt crisis. I am preparing a report: FY2025 Budget Reconciliation, Facts & Figures. I hope to complete it shortly and hold a hearing on it before we take any more Senate votes on the budget." President Donald Trump on Truth Social last week: "THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL" has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!" He added a message to Senate Republicans: "Now, it's time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste." House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, in a statement on Thursday: "Today, the House has passed generational, nation-shaping legislation that reduces spending, permanently lowers taxes for families and job creators, secures the border, unleashes American energy dominance, restores peace through strength, and makes government work more efficiently and effectively for all Americans." What Happens Next? Other GOP senators, including Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine and Josh Hawley of Missouri, have also raised concerns about the bill, and have voiced concerns ahead of a vote on the bill, which the Senate has set to happen before the Fourth of July.

Investors Will Want Zicom Group's (ASX:ZGL) Growth In ROCE To Persist
Investors Will Want Zicom Group's (ASX:ZGL) Growth In ROCE To Persist

Yahoo

time35 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Investors Will Want Zicom Group's (ASX:ZGL) Growth In ROCE To Persist

If we want to find a potential multi-bagger, often there are underlying trends that can provide clues. Firstly, we'd want to identify a growing return on capital employed (ROCE) and then alongside that, an ever-increasing base of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. With that in mind, we've noticed some promising trends at Zicom Group (ASX:ZGL) so let's look a bit deeper. Trump has pledged to "unleash" American oil and gas and these 15 US stocks have developments that are poised to benefit. For those that aren't sure what ROCE is, it measures the amount of pre-tax profits a company can generate from the capital employed in its business. The formula for this calculation on Zicom Group is: Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT) ÷ (Total Assets - Current Liabilities) 0.083 = S$5.7m ÷ (S$169m - S$100m) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2024). Therefore, Zicom Group has an ROCE of 8.3%. Ultimately, that's a low return and it under-performs the Machinery industry average of 11%. View our latest analysis for Zicom Group While the past is not representative of the future, it can be helpful to know how a company has performed historically, which is why we have this chart above. If you're interested in investigating Zicom Group's past further, check out this free graph covering Zicom Group's past earnings, revenue and cash flow. Shareholders will be relieved that Zicom Group has broken into profitability. The company was generating losses five years ago, but has managed to turn it around and as we saw earlier is now earning 8.3%, which is always encouraging. Interestingly, the capital employed by the business has remained relatively flat, so these higher returns are either from prior investments paying off or increased efficiencies. So while we're happy that the business is more efficient, just keep in mind that could mean that going forward the business is lacking areas to invest internally for growth. Because in the end, a business can only get so efficient. For the record though, there was a noticeable increase in the company's current liabilities over the period, so we would attribute some of the ROCE growth to that. The current liabilities has increased to 59% of total assets, so the business is now more funded by the likes of its suppliers or short-term creditors. Given it's pretty high ratio, we'd remind investors that having current liabilities at those levels can bring about some risks in certain businesses. As discussed above, Zicom Group appears to be getting more proficient at generating returns since capital employed has remained flat but earnings (before interest and tax) are up. And with a respectable 80% awarded to those who held the stock over the last five years, you could argue that these developments are starting to get the attention they deserve. In light of that, we think it's worth looking further into this stock because if Zicom Group can keep these trends up, it could have a bright future ahead. If you want to know some of the risks facing Zicom Group we've found 4 warning signs (3 are significant!) that you should be aware of before investing here. While Zicom Group may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list here. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

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